All For You
by The Red Hoodie
Summary: After Silas is defeated, Caroline is left with no one. Taking it upon herself to leave her small town, she goes in search for Klaus. When she finds him, he isn't the man she remembered. Much chaos is in the intertwined futures of the small town girl and immortal hybrid.
1. Blood and Roses

A/N: Written after 4.14. Um…so first Klaroline fic. I love them and their twisted relationship. This is completely AU after that episode, though I might add in some lines from the show as it continues to airs. There will be plenty of chapters, lots of heartache…there will be little goodness within this fic, angst is the ruler here. But I hope you'll stick with me through the ride.

oOo

**Blood and Roses**

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."  
― Martin Luther King, Jr.

It had been one year since Caroline saw Tyler. He had gone…he disappeared with a promise he would forget about her and live a full life. For weeks after, she often woke with tears on her cheeks. She called him when things with Silas got out of hand, when Elena lost her humanity after Jeremy died, when Bonnie gave up her life to weaken Silas and Elena sacrificed herself in a fight with Katherine for the cure that could kill Silas forever. He never replied to her messages. She was holding onto nothing now. Her friends were dead, her mother's job was on the line, she had graduated high school. She would look seventeen forever and she had nothing to do with her life.

When she came back from the Grill, where she was visiting with Matt, the only friend of hers that was still alive, there was a message on her phone. She checked it quickly, cursing the dial tone before her voicemail clicked on. "Hey, blondie." It wasn't Tyler. It was Damon Salvatore. She listened anyway. "I've made a mess of things in Texas." A frown overcame Caroline's face. Damon had taken Elena's death harder than anyone had thought. "If Stefan comes asking, don't tell him where I am." There was a muffled voice in the background and the line cut off. Caroline stayed sitting on the couch for a good five minutes, phone hanging between her fingers before she blinked and moved away from the room, up to her bedroom.

Frantically, she pulled a small suitcase from her closet and began throwing clothes into it. There was no rhyme or reason as to what she was packing, she as just tossing around whatever her fingers touched. When the bag was full, she pulled it into the kitchen and wrote her mother a hasty note.

_Mom-_  
_I have to leave for a while. You know how tough this last year has been. Don't worry about me._  
_Love you,_  
_C  
__PS. I'll have my phone with me._

Sticking it on the fridge, Caroline took one last sweeping look at her home, the one she had grown up in, the one her father had died in, and stepped outside. She closed the door slowly, because she wasn't just leaving a house. She was closing the door on this part of her life. Everything from here on out was completely new.

Caroline sat on the front steps and called a cab. It took thirty minutes to get to her house. During that time she fished through her phone contacts, her thumb hovering over the numbers belonging to Rebekah and Klaus on her phone. She sucked in a sharp breath and just pushed her finger against Rebekah's name when the cab pulled up and she hung up the call after the first ring. Grabbing her bag, Caroline moved toward the cab, put her suitcase in the back and slipped into the seat. "The bus station please," she told the driver.

They had to drive close to Richmond and her bill was outrageous, but she paid and was thankful for the credit card in her wallet since she had no more cash. Walking up to the ticket booth, she bought a ticket for the first bus to Georgia. She had heard that a vampire loyal to Klaus lived in Atlanta, and that's where she was going first. Lucky for her, there was a bus headed there in just forty minutes time. She bought her ticket and waited inside. Twenty minutes passed before a mother and a little girl with blonde pigtails walked into the station and sat on the bench opposite Caroline. There was a pain in her chest when she realized how much the two of them reminded her of herself and her own mother.

Blinking away tears threatening to come to the surface, Caroline turned her attention to her phone and before she realized it, she had pushed the call button next to Klaus' name in her phone. She put it to her ear and was sadly met with a monotone voice saying "The number you have called has been disconnected. Please redial and try again." Frowning, she deleted the contact from her phone and minutes later, the only contact left in her phonebook was her mother, Matt and Rebekah. Everyone else was dead or had moved on with their human lives and were no friends of hers anymore.

Before she broke down crying, the intercom called for all those going to Atlanta to go to the E terminal. Caroline stood quickly and pulled her bag behind her, the woman and her daughter joining the line along with a man wearing a fedora, a woman with a nose ring and an older gentleman with a full white beard. There were others that trickled in as the doors were opened and everyone walked out toward the proper bus. Caroline put her suitcase under the bus with the other luggage and walked onto the bus with just her ticket and phone. She grabbed a window seat. Soon the bus was more than half full and the doors closed.

There was nothing spectacular about taking a bus trip, but for Caroline this was more than that. She had never left home before. Not on her own, not for what she assumed would be a rather long amount of time.

Once the bus left the city, Caroline settled back in the chair, checked her phone for messages or calls and managed to slip into a semblance of a nap. She had dreams of dancing, close moving bodies with the air smelling sweetly of blood and roses. Everything felt dangerous in a way that set her skin alight. She was slipping from the majestic scene, things were growing blurry, but a voice clearly spoke to her:

_"I'm leaving town tomorrow. I'd invite you to come with me, but we both know you're not ready to accept my offer. Perhaps one day, in a year or even a century, you'll turn up at my door and let me show you what the world has to offer."_

Caroline jumped awake on the bus. If her heart worked, it would be racing. She instinctively put her hand on her chest and imagined the feeling of a swift heartbeat under her fingers. She still felt half asleep as she whispered, "Klaus."

Suddenly, there was a thunk and Caroline was pushed into reality. The little girl from the station was standing at the end of the row of seats, looking at Caroline with wide blue eyes. Caroline looked down to see the girl's doll that had gotten jostled out of her hands and landed at Caroline's feet. The young vampire leaned down and picked up the doll, handing it over to the girl with a smile. "Thank you," the girl said shyly before scurrying off to the front of the bus where her mother quietly reprimanded her for walking while the bus was moving. Caroline smiled sadly and a tear slid down her cheek. She brushed it away and rolled her eyes.

"Get it together, Caroline," she told herself.

The trip was long and left Caroline longing for a private jet. By the time she got off of the bus in Atlanta, Georgia, she was in dire need of a shower and a feed. She used her phone to find the address attached to the name Hugo Theeds, which was the only thing she had to go on at the moment. Thankfully she managed to get an address and used a map service to walk to the place. It was a nice apartment building in a nice part of town. There was a burning in the back of her throat telling her that she had to drink some blood _soon._

Swallowing, she noticed that there was no buzzer and she walked into a lobby where there was a desk and elevators. Behind the desk was a woman. Caroline walked over to her.

"Um…which apartment belongs to Hugo Theeds?" she asked as politely as she could as her eyes focused on the pulsing vein in the woman's neck.

"Third floor," the woman replied in a bored voice.

Caroline shook her head into some sense before she grabbed her bag and walked to the elevator. She pushed the '3' button once inside. The elevator doors opened to a small eight by three space where there was a single door marked with the same number. Sucking in an unneeded breathe, Caroline lifted her arm and knocked on the door.

It took a few moments before someone pulled open the door. He wasn't a vampire, she could hear his heartbeat and smell the human on him. He had a bite mark on the side of his neck that was recent, and was dressed in boxers and a silky bathrobe. "Who're you?" he asked, eyeing Caroline like she was a piece of trash.

"I'm here for Hugo," she said, standing up a little straighter.

"Tell her to go away, Jerry," a second male voice said from inside the apartment.

Jerry was about to shut the door when Caroline spoke louder and clearer, "I'm looking for Klaus."

Jerry stopped and stared at her and a moment later a second man came into the doorway. This one was a vampire, and he put his hands on Jerry's shoulders and whispered something in his ear. The human disappeared from view.

"I'm Hugo," the vampire said. He was tall and thin, with hair as red as fire and a well defined upper half which was currently uncovered. "Who are you?"

"My name is Caroline," she replied, her face shifting into its vampire form: fangs, red eyes and obtrusive veins around her eyes. "Do you have anything to drink?"

It took a moment before Hugo cracked a smirk and stepped aside. "Jerry, tell Caroline she can come inside."

Jerry's head appeared from around a wall. "Come on in, Caroline."

Caroline tilted her head in a thanks to Hugo and stepped inside, leaving her bag in the foyer. The apartment took up the entire floor, and opened up to a huge living room in dark wood and maroon colors. Heavy curtains covered the windows. Hugo walked and stopped in the middle of the room, turning to her. "Do you prefer live…?" He waved a hand toward Jerry who was doing something in the kitchen.

"No," Caroline said quickly. She still hadn't gotten over that hump of drinking from a human since the incident with the carnival boy after she had been turned and had no idea what she was doing. Not long after, Jerry was giving her a crystal glass filled with blood, the almost-empty blood bag sitting on the counter. The blunt smell of it was more tantalizing than the man's heartbeat and Caroline sucked it down quickly and without manners. Once it was finished and Jerry emptied the rest of the bag into the glass, he disappeared from the room and Hugo offered her to sit.

"I heard that you are looking for Klaus," Hugo said after an elongated pause.

Caroline held the glass on her lap with both hands. "Yes. I can't contact him and I heard through the grapevine that you are loyal to him. I thought you might know…where I could find him." She felt out of her element here. She wasn't perky little Caroline anymore. So much about the past year had changed her completely and she was still getting accustomed to it herself.

Hugo liked to keep her waiting before he replied. He was studying her actions, her body language, as she sat there and she could feel it, his eyes raking across her skin. She was glad that she had worn jeans and a jack and not much of her actual _skin_ was showing. "I am."

"You are…?" Caroline arched an eyebrow.

"Loyal. To Klaus," he said after a pause two seconds too long.

Caroline took a drink from the glass. The blood was almost gone. Her thirst felt quenched. "Are you going to help me or not? Because if not, I'll just leave." She made a move to stand.

Hugo sat forward quickly, half standing with an arm out in her direction. "No, stay. This is entertaining."

She rolled her crystal blue eyes. "I'm not here for entertainment. I'm here for information."

"And a drink," he added, nodding toward the cup in her hands.

"I can pay you," she lied through her teeth. She had no cash left.

He waved a hand. "It's just a bag. For emergencies. It's fine." He sat back. "Just…answer one question and I'll tell you where you can find Klaus."

Caroline finished the blood, licked her lips and then met Hugo's eyes. "Ask away."

"How do you…walk during the day, without burning?"

It wasn't quite a secret, so Caroline didn't feel badly in telling it. "This," she held up her hand and fiddled with her ring so he could see, "was spelled by a witch so I could walk under the sun. I don't know the spell, and the witch is dead." The words fell heavy out of her mouth.

Hugo gave a little "Huh" before he stood and walked over to an old desk in the corner. Caroline fidgeted on the couch. She didn't feel threatened here but she was still on edge, expecting to wake up from a dream and find Silas alive and having opened the veil between worlds. The thought of such a world sent a shiver down her spine.

With a letter in hand, Hugo came back and sat next to her. Caroline shifted slightly so they weren't sitting so close. "Klaus saw me a while back," he started, opening up the envelope, "telling me to give this to someone. He didn't tell me who it would be, only that I'd know." He didn't hand her the entire contents of the envelope, but a small piece of paper that was folded in half with a C written in Klaus' handwriting on one side. "I figure this is for you."

He didn't move back to the other seat, so Caroline set the glass down on the wooden floor and unfolded the piece of paper. It was in fourths. In one corner, there was a sketching of the Eiffel Tower. Under and around it were words, carefully written in the hybrid's familiar writing.

_If you have found this, you must have come to your senses. I can offer you the world, and you can take it._

That was it.

"This is it?" Caroline echoed her thoughts, looking over at Hugo.

The ginger haired vampire nodded. "The letter is a long ramble to me. He sends me one every so often, confessing things he'd rather not discuss with other people."

Caroline's eyes flickered to the thick envelope. She suddenly craved to know what was written in there. Was there anything about her? Did Hugo know she would be coming? She frowned and looked back down at the small paper with the simple words. "But how am I supposed to find him?" she said under her breath. Up until now, she hadn't really let herself believe that this was exactly what she was doing: she was searching for Klaus to take him up on his offer. She wanted more than her life in Mystic Falls.

She _needed_ Klaus.


	2. Lost But Not That Lost

**A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews! I'm so glad that so many people like this fic so far. I apologize for any grammar mistakes or typos; I'm writing and posting this without any beta-ing. And now, without further ado, the next chapter!**

oOo

**Lost But Not That Lost**

Hugo gave her instructions to wait in the city and gave her the name of a bed and breakfast she should stay at for a week. Having no other options, Caroline did as he suggested. She could easily move through the day without any trouble, unlike Hugo, so she even ran a quick errand to repay him. It was nothing more than bringing a large envelope to a place that was only opened during the day and leaving it there. She didn't ask what the content was or who was on the receiving end; she just did it and left.

She slept in the following morning. Her room was quaint, painted yellow with a print of Van Gogh's sunflowers on the wall opposite the tall bed covered in a hand quilted blanket adorned with appliquéd sunflowers. The room was sunnier than she felt as she roused herself and stared at the ceiling. After a few moments, she grabbed her phone off the bedside table and turned it on, having shut it off the previous night because she didn't want to deal with anyone calling her.

After the device warmed up, she found three text messages and two phone calls. The texts were from Matt asking where she was and the calls were from her mother. Sucking in a breath, Caroline pushed the call button next to the missed call and held the phone to her ear, rolling over in bed so she was lying on her side, letting the midday sun shine onto her face.

"Caroline?" her mother answered the phone.

"Hey, Mom."

"Caroline…what happened? I got your note but…why couldn't you have waited until I got home from work so I could say goodbye?"

Caroline could almost hear the tears in her mother's voice. Pushing herself up, she rested her back against the headboard and slapped the palm of her free hand to her forehead. "Because I knew you wouldn't let me leave, okay? And I know that I wouldn't have been able to if I was faced with having to say goodbye to you face to face," she said honestly, moving her legs up close to her chest.

Her mother wasn't happy. "Caroline, you can't just make these decisions without telling me first."

"Why not, Mom? I'm a vampire, remember? And technically I'm older than eighteen now." She clutched the phone tightly and bowed her head. "You know we were both hanging onto the notion that I could live a normal life, but that's not going to happen for me. This was the best way to deal with that."

There was silence on the other end for so long Caroline thought that the line had been cut. "You're right," her mother finally broke the silence.

Caroline hadn't expected such a quick, easy response from her mother. "It's not like I'll never see you again. I promise," her voice caught slightly, "I promise that we'll keep in touch. And I'll visit whenever I can. Okay?"

Submission, that's what her mother was feeling. Caroline had left already and there wasn't anything that her mother could do about it. "Okay, sweetheart."

"Okay," Caroline repeated. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you, too, Caroline."

Caroline tossed the phone to the end of the bed and she slumped down, pulling the covers over her head. That was not the morning she wanted to have. She didn't know exactly what she was expecting, but she didn't want _this_…this attachment to her past. A mother who would grow old while Caroline had to watch, forever young. She didn't want that emotional strain. She wanted to get _lost_.

Not being able to stay laying in bed any longer, Caroline pushed back the covers and hopped off of the mattress, the wooden floor warm and welcoming under her feet. She pulled her bag onto the ottoman sitting at the foot of the bed and dug through it to see what she had packed. Pulling out a new pair of panties and a nice flowery dress, she quickly changed and dragged her fingers through her hair. Sitting in front of the ivory vanity, she plugged in her hair straightener, which had somehow ended up in her suitcase as well, and ironed out her golden locks.

When she stood to look at herself in the mirror, she frowned. She looked like the _old_ Caroline, the one that belonged in Mystic Falls, caught up in the drama that was boys and best friends. But they're all dead, she reminded herself. Sure, Caroline was dead as well, but at least she was still up on her feet and not buried underground.

Shaking her head, she told herself there was nothing she could do about her look unless she used the money on the credit card to buy a new wardrobe, but that wasn't her main concern so she would just live with what she had. A simple white summer dress with small blue flowers and a pair of short brown boots that thankfully went with almost everything she had brought with her.

She had no idea what to do, but she was in a nice city and it was a beautiful, sunny late-spring day and she couldn't stand staying inside any longer. She grabbed the one and only purse she brought with her, made sure her wallet and phone were inside before she stepped out, saying goodbye to the lady in the front room, who was cleaning the mantelpiece as she passed.

Atlanta was bustling, especially since it was a Saturday. She had no idea where she was heading, but Hugo's apartment and her bed and breakfast were right near an artsy market with multi-colored buildings like lego blocks. She ended up weaving in and out of the shops, taking everything in. There was nothing like this in Mystic Falls, nor in Richmond or Virginia Beach which were the two places she'd gone on vacation with her parents during her human life. The people here were friendly and open and talked to her and distracted her from thoughts she'd rather not linger on.

Thoughts about a certain hybrid who she knew she should hate for all of the things he had done, but found it impossible to do so. He had killed people, people she knew, people she cared about, yet she found herself forgetting those things, or at least pushing them into the back of her mind, and only focusing on the things he had done _for_ her. Saving her life twice, drawing her gorgeous sketches, dancing with her, offering her the world, sparing Tyler's life…there were good things that happened between them, amid the bad. She was drawn to him despite the struggle within herself not to be. Despite the killing and the destruction…she just couldn't help it.

She wasted a good few hours within the shops, even getting the chance to watch a street performer show off his magic tricks to a small crowd, before the sky began to grow dim, taking on a pink and orange tinge. Caroline liked being out at night, but ever since she got into the vampire world she hadn't felt safe, but this wasn't Mystic Falls. She felt like she would be safe here, at least from hunters or people trying to kill her.

The city became even more alive after dark, and she headed toward a commons that had a small stage set up on one side. Someone was doing a one man show there and had drawn quite a crowd. There was a night vender selling ice cream because of the sticky rise of humidity that hit as the sun went down. There were lights twinkling in the trees that littered the small square of grass and stone pathways. It was so quaint that it reminded Caroline of home, something she didn't want, but found herself enjoying. To rip herself completely away from Mystic Falls with no form of homesickness would mean that she really had lost herself, and even she didn't want to fall that far this fast.

She had a small smile tickling her features as preteens rushed in front of her toward the stage, juggling ice cream cones and making a commotion like normal kids. More than a few couples were walking through the area, hand in hand or arms around each other, looking sweet and blissful in the Georgian heat. There was a pang in her heart that felt like Tyler tugging at her heartstrings. Setting her jaw, she pushed hair back from her face and turned from the spot where she had stopped walking, about to take another rock pathway, one that led away from the stage, when she caught sight of someone standing not ten feet away from her, hands clasped behind his back, face darkened by the lack of lights.

It was Klaus.


	3. Darkness Within

A/N: Again, THANK YOU for all of the lovely reviews, it really makes me want to update this faster and faster :) I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's longer and has more going on in it than the previous one.

**oOo**

**Darkness Within**

Her breath caught in her throat, an unneeded breath, but one that made this situation even more _human_ for her. But isn't that what they did to each other? Made the other just a little bit more human?

"_I know you're in love with me._" Her own words echoed through her mind when she laid eyes on him. She was rooted to the spot even though this was why she was here…this was why she left home, even if she hadn't known it when she got onto that bus; or at least, she hadn't admitted it to herself.

"Klaus." The name slipped from her lips without any warning. The shadows of his face changed as he smiled that toothless smile, the one that never meant anything good for the person on the receiving end.

But she wasn't afraid. Somehow she got her feet working and she took small steps toward him, stopping with about twelve inches between the toes of their shoes. She still couldn't see much of his face, not even being this close to him.

"Hello, Caroline." Hearing his voice again for the first time in a year sent shivers down her spine to her toes. She hadn't seen him since he left soon after Tyler had, leaving everyone at Mystic Falls to deal with Silas alone. She wondered if he had done it on purpose, but she wouldn't blame him if he had. It wasn't his fight; it was Elena who wanted the cure and look where that left her.

She took in a sharp breath and squeezed her hand around the thick strap of her purse that hung at hip level. "How…did Hugo tell you I was here?"

"Yes. And when I hear a lovely woman is looking for me, I come running," he said. There was something different about his voice. It was darker than ever before. What had happened in this past year?

"I don't know why," were the words that slipped out, tone telling of her discomfort and confusion. She hadn't known what to expect, how he would react, if she would even actually _find_ him…she hadn't planned ahead, which was very odd for her, because she always did that. She was little Miss-Plans-A-Lot.

He tilted his head to the side. "I'm thinking it has something to do with my offer."

That was way, way over a year ago, and she honestly thought that since he had left, that he would have forgotten. Who would remember petty little Caroline? She was just Elena the doppelganger's pretty friend who was always in second place. Why would she ever come in first for _anyone_?

"I couldn't stay in Mystic Falls any longer." She had no control over her words. She wasn't saying the things she wanted to say, to sound strong. No, it was as if he had compelled her to tell the truth. But he…he had never compelled her _ever_ and why would he start now? Why was she telling the truth so openly?

"I know the feeling," Klaus replied. He held out his hand to her, palm up. "Come with me."

She should have said no, but instead she let go of her purse and slipped her hand over his, fingertips brushing along fingers and palm, sending jots of electricity up her arm. He took her hand and pulled her closer, placing her fingers around his arm just above his elbow and began walking, keeping his arm across his chest, his hand sitting inside his jacket. It felt very formal, cold even, compared to the closeness of their dances in the past. What had changed?

"Where are we going?" she asked, keeping her eyes forward as he guided her over the stone walkway to the normal sidewalk and across the street.

"Shhhh," was all he said, continuing onward without stopping.

Caroline didn't even look at him the entire time they walked. She couldn't. She felt like she would be looking at a stranger and she didn't want that. She wanted the Klaus back that she liked…the one from before Kol was killed in front of him, the one before this darkness crept into his voice. She was scared that if she looked at him she wouldn't like what she saw.

She didn't feel at all like one of those couples she had just seen walking around, arm in arm or hand in hand together. A heaviness fell upon her shoulders, especially when he pulled her around the corner of a building and was suddenly nudging her through a metal doorway with his hand on the small of her back. There was nowhere to go but up a flight of metal stairs, which clanked and scrapped under her footsteps.

A lump formed in her throat as a doorway appeared at the top of the steps. What was going to be behind that door? She imagined the worst, causing her to almost jump as Klaus stepped behind her, his chest touching her shoulders as he leaned down to grab the doorhandle, twist it and push the door inward.

The doom and gloom she had expected wasn't what met her eyes. Instead it was a dimly lit open floor studio. There were large canvases scattered around the space. Opposite the door and to the right were walls of windows. A nervous breath escaped her lungs.

"Are these yours?" she asked, taking a step inside. Klaus followed suit and shut the door before walking around her, headed toward the desk nearby to shrug off his leather jacket and lay it on the back of the metal chair.

"Yes," he said, staying where he was and watching her carefully.

She hadn't seen any large paintings of his since that night he showed her his room of paintings and there was that beautiful landscape painting on the wall, framed and everything. These were different than even that…these were darker, abstract, horrifying almost. She crossed her arms and wandered passed him. Around the three large canvases on the left was a small living space. This was nothing like the places she had always seen him living in. Those were always mansions and large estates. "Do you live here?" she asked, not turning to look at him.

"Sometimes. I just came from Canada," he said. There was emotion missing from his voice, that softness, that _love_ that she was accustomed to hearing.

"Why?" she asked, dragging her eyes over the exposed plumbing under the sink, the small cot and the table with paint splatters.

"You know why."

She turned to find him standing right behind her. And she had no choice but to look at him then. Physically he appeared the same as always, the familiar lines of his face were always softer than one would expect for a _villain._ There was something deep and dark within his eyes, a coldness that almost frightened her.

She didn't answer.

"For you, Caroline," he finished, lingering close to her for a moment before he moved around her. "Did you think I wouldn't notice you were looking for me?"

Caroline rubbed her arm with her palm, trying to rub away the feeling of something crawling beneath her skin. "I don't know what I think anymore, honestly," she said. She was holding back. Just coming out with what she wanted to say would get around all of this, wouldn't it? She should just, _say_ it.

"I told you that small town would get too little for you." Caroline turned so she could see him. He was in shadows, but she could see the outline of him. "Isn't that why you ran away? To get away from that life and find something more…exciting?" With the last word, he sped toward her, a blur to even her eyes, and ran a finger along her jawline, hooking it under her chin and turning her face upward. "Or have I got it wrong, love?"

That was the first time he had used a pet name this evening and for some reason it made a bit of the old him shine through to her. It gave her a small hope that she could get him back. Whatever that meant. None of her thoughts were making any sense.

"No, you're right," she said slowly as his finger moved down, under her jaw, joined with the others and stroked her neck, fingertips resting over the dip of her collarbone, his palm settling over where her underused heart sat. He had never touched her like this before…he hadn't really touched her much at all unless they were dancing or when he was feeding her his blood. Caroline took a step back and the air swarmed to meet the skin that his hand had just been lying against. "What happened to you, Klaus?"

Klaus shook his head and looked down as he turned on his heel, taking a few steps away from her.

"You seem very unhappy," Caroline emphasized. Not that Klaus had ever seemed ecstatic, but it was almost as if a Dementor came by and sucked away any and all hope he could have had and left Klaus with this…darkness.

Klaus let out a breath that could only be described as a sarcastic laugh. "Unhappy? You think I'm unhappy?" He turned to face her, crossing his arms and using one of his hands to emphasize. "Why would I be unhappy? Half of my family is dead, my sister's run off with an ex-Hunter and the doppelganger line is forever broken and I have no chance of making more hybrids. Why would that make me unhappy, Caroline?"

She lowered her eyes, his words hitting her like blunt stabs. When he finished with her name, she set her jaw and met his gaze with an icy one of her own. "All of _my_ friends have died, Klaus. And I've lived for way fewer years than you. But I'm not off doing god knows what, acting like nothing matters."

"Nothing does, not anymore," Klaus said sharply, voice louder than its usual calm tone.

A small tornado of frustration was building within Caroline's chest. Her purse slipped off her shoulder and slumped against the floor with a _thunk_. She tossed her arms out to either side. "Really? Seriously, Klaus? I came…_all_ this way to see you and all you can say is 'Nothing matters anymore' as if you're the _only_ person who's ever lost someone? No…you know what?" She swooped down to grab her purse, turning on her heel, ready to storm out of there. "It was a mistake coming here for you. I don't know what I was thinking." She walked toward the door, scolding herself under her breath as she did so. She expected him to follow, but he didn't. She left the loft, sped down the stairs and into the street. The sticky air hit her in a gust and she curled her hands into fists as she tried to put down the anger simmering inside of her.

Klaus was _infuriating_. He was worse than teenagers who believed that everything bad only happened to them and not to other people as well. Letting out a frustrated growl, Caroline shoved the purse back on her shoulder and crossed her arms tightly, heading back toward the commons.

The one man show was just finishing up by the looks of it and the crowd was dispersing from the group to small clumps of three or four, all standing around the grass, laughing and discussing what they'd just seen. Everything was so human and alive, the air thrummed with heartbeats and Caroline was so flustered that her mouth ached, fangs calling out for fresh blood, for warm flesh to cut through, tear, taste…

"Caroline!" a voice cut through her bloodlust. It wasn't Klaus, but it was a voice she recognized. Turning, she saw Hugo jogging toward her, dressed in leather, his bright hair and overly-pale skin somewhat offsetting against so much dark. "Hey."

She let out a breath through her nose. "Hey," she said simply.

"Did you find Klaus?" He leaned down to look at her face. He was very tall.

She shifted her eyes, looking anywhere but at the other vampire. "Yes. And he's even more of an arrogant asshole than before," she growled.

An amused smile tugged Hugo's lips into an upward curl. "He's had a rough year."

"So have I!" she defended, her voice rising. She sent a glare in Hugo's direction. "I have no idea why I even came looking for him. It was a mistake." Without another word she took a step around him and toward the grass of the common so she could cut through the square and head back to her small room.

"Come now, little Caroline, are you really going to give up that easily?" Hugo called out after her. He didn't follow as she pushed through the humans and marched onward. Nothing but a tank could have stopped her once she had determination on her mind.


	4. Trivial

**A/N: **Omg I'm so so so sorry for the long wait! I hope you will all stick with me even if my updates get sporadic! I'm dealing with a lot of things in RL atm but I'll try to start updating this every week. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

oOo

**Trivial**

She didn't get much sleep. She woke up thinking she should just go home. This was a mistake, she wasn't going to get _anywhere_ and getting lost without any money was a romantic idea in films but didn't work so well in the real world.

Just as she was pulling on a shirt, there was a tap on her door. Frowning, she hid behind the door and pulled it open. The B&B's owner stood there with a gentle smile on her face. "Sorry to disturb you so early," she started, "there is a young man waiting for you down in the front room, m'dear."

Caroline didn't ask who it was because she knew only one person in town who could walk around during the day. "Okay, thank you. I'll be right down." With that, she shut the door and looked at herself in the mirror. The good thing about being a vampire was that she never got bags under her eyes when she didn't get enough sleep. Her hair was a wavy mess that she dragged her hands through before she pulled on the same jeans she had traveled in and stepped into her three-inch heeled boots. She put her phone in her pocket, took a deep breath and stepped into the hall. She walked right into one of the other tenants who was coming from the communal bathroom.

"Sorry, sorry," she said before slipping down the wooden stairs and holding her breath as she reached the bottom. She gave the woman, who was now behind the desk sitting directly opposite the front door and to the right of where Caroline came down the stairs, a small smile and slowly approached Klaus, who was standing in the middle of the quaint living space, with stuffed chairs, a fireplace and four tables with two chairs each farther back for those who ate meals here. "Klaus," she said with uncertainly.

Even under early day sunlight, his face appeared darker than before. "Caroline," he replied. "I was hoping we could go for a walk. So we can talk."

It was a good idea. Daytime, walking, no enclosed spaces. "Okay." She turned on her heel and headed toward the front door. He followed, grabbing the edge of the door when she yanked it open. The sun was bright, yet the air was a million times less humid than the previous day. She crossed her arms and began walking. She didn't know where much of anything was in this city, but she didn't care.

"Are you going to talk to me?" Klaus asked, falling into step beside her.

"I'm not childish, Klaus," Caroline said with a roll of her eyes. "I'd just like an apology first."

"Apology?" Klaus was surprised, but the look Caroline gave him seemed to change his mind. He cleared his throat and looked forward. "I apologize for my behavior last night and any distress it caused you, Caroline."

Caroline hid a smile and bit the inside of her cheek. "Apology accepted," she said after a minute, pushing her hair behind an ear and glancing over at him. "I'm sorry, too."

"Good."

"Did Hugo talk to you?"

"Possibly. I wanted to clarify what I said last night." She nodded for him to continue. "I don't blame _you_, Caroline. As far as I know…as far as I'd like to know, you weren't involved in Kol's death. But your friends took him away from me, took the pleasure—"

"Klaus," Caroline warned, noting the plenty of humans around who could overhear them and run to the authorities about the man and woman who talked about so much death and killing.

He let out a harsh breath through his nose. "They took that away from me and were stupid enough to believe in that _cure_…"

"They're all dead," Caroline said shortly. "Katherine, Elena, Bonnie, Jeremy…Stefan."

"Stefan?"

She blinked a few extra times. "Yes. He took the coward's way out after Elena sacrificed herself. He took his ring off at sunrise." She folded her arms against the invisible coldness that swept over her. It was a touchy subject considering Caroline had been so close to Stefan and she still found phone calls from Damon on her phone speaking about Stefan because he didn't know his brother was dead.

"Ah…I would have imagined Stefan would move into the opposite direction after a great loss," Klaus commented.

"You mean…into the Ripper?"

"The very same."

"Is that what you've done, Klaus? You have no one to _kill_," she whispered the word, "who was involved in Kol's death. What have you been doing with yourself?"

"I don't think you want to know that, love," Klaus warned.

Caroline furrowed her eyebrows. "I know the kinds of things you do, Klaus. I'm not blind." She stopped walking abruptly and reached out a hesitant hand toward his arm but he noticed and turned before she touched him. "Like I said before, I try to forget those things. Not completely, I _know_ they happened. I just know that other…more likeable things have happened, too."

"Are you saying I'm _likeable_?" A hint of the old Klaus pushed through the darkness, the type of Klaus that joked and opened up to Caroline at the Lockwood mansion what felt like an eternity ago.

"Sometimes you are," Caroline said, looking down at the pavement and walking passed him. This time it was Klaus who reached out, curling his hand around her upper arm. She let out a sigh and faced him, slightly annoyed.

"Why did you _really_ come looking for me, love? To redeem me? To run away from the loved ones gone?"

She met his eyes. "No. There was nothing left for me in Mystic Falls. And I…I want to get _lost_."

Klaus raised an eyebrow. "Lost. And you came to me? I'm quite flattered, Caroline."

"You told me once…or twice," she swallowed thinking maybe it was three times, "that there were places I could go…places you would take me."

"Oh." There was pleasant surprise in his tone. "You want me to show you the world?"

"I'm here, aren't I?" She felt a squeeze in her heart that hadn't beat in nearly two years. Something nice and familiar flashed through Klaus' eyes. A warmth spread through his fingers to her bare skin. "You're not going to try to kill me, are you? For being so big and bold against the original hybrid?"

He smirked, letting go of her arm. "You've never feared me, Caroline."

oOo

"Where are you going to take me?" Caroline asked, not thirty minutes later. They were back at Klaus' loft. The paintings there took on another form under the sunlight streaming through two walls of almost solid window. She was sitting at the same desk where Klaus had set his jacket the previous night—it was still there—with the sun behind her. She had a perfect view of the three large canvases that hid the small living quarters within the space. She sat backwards in the metal chair, draping her arms over the back and resting her chin on her forearm. Her fingertips brushed against the worn leather of his jacket. "Is there anywhere that you're not allowed to go?"

"What?" There was a hint of laughter on Klaus' voice. He was doing something out of her view.

She tilted her head, eyes focused on the painting right in front of her. There wasn't much paint except at the center of the canvas. Layers of darker to lighter shadows of blue, it was just sweeping lines and instead of looking horrific, it actually looked quite mystical and soothing. "I mean…did you ever get kicked out of a country for doing something bad?"

"I always do something bad."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll just pick a place. Um…" She closed her eyes, imagining the world map in her mind. Paris? Rome? Berlin? Amsterdam? Moscow? Dubai? They were all out of reach to her before and she wanted to see it all. _I have forever_, she told herself. "Rome…Florence…Naples…Italy?"

When she opened her eyes, Klaus was standing next to his unfinished canvas, staring at her in a way that made her wiggle in the chair. "What's wrong?" she asked, sitting upright.

"Nothing," he said, as if just realizing what he had been doing. He blinked and gave his head a little shake. When the world settled again, he couldn't help but take in the sight of Caroline in front of him. With the sun's light embracing her in pure gold, setting her hair alight like a halo, she looked angelic, otherworldly, more than beautiful. And she had no idea.

"So is Italy like…doable?" she pushed.

"Yes," he said. "I can make a few calls and we can be on a flight in two days."

She perked up like a kid hearing they were going to Disneyworld. "Seriously? That fast?"

"Mhm." He nodded and disappeared behind his canvases once again. Not long after she heard his voice, sometimes speaking in English, sometimes in what she guessed was Italian.

The thought of leaving the country so quickly gave her jitters in her belly. She bit down on her bottom lip to stop herself from grinning. She got mildly lost in her fantasies about traveling to another country that she was startled when someone banged on the door and walked in before Klaus could answer. It was Jerry and he had a large camera hung around his neck. Caroline stood up quickly as Jerry saw her.

Klaus walked around the last canvas. "Ah, good, you're here. Caroline," he lifted an arm and waved her toward him, "Jerry is going to need to take a photo for your passport. Come here."

"Passport? Doesn't that take like weeks to get?" she asked, though she followed him farther back into the loft, away from the brighter light. There was a large wall painted in grey. Klaus put his hands on her shoulders and moved her to the proper spot.

"Yes, but I have connections that can make them very quickly." He took a step back, behind Jerry, who was turning on the fancy camera. "And I assure you it is all very legal," Klaus added, seeing the frown beginning to appear on the blonde's face.

Her smile brightened and there was a quick flash. "Sorry, sorry," Jerry apologized, pulling the camera away from his face to check the digital screen. "That's…that is actually a very nice picture."

Klaus nearly yanked the camera right off the strap. He looked at the small screen for a few long minutes before replying. "It is very beautiful," he said finally. "Take another."

"Uh…less smiling, if you would, Miss Caroline," Jerry said, lifting the camera again.

Caroline softened her expression and there was another flash. She blinked a few times as Jerry checked that frame.

"This should work. I'll send it right away, Mr. Klaus." With that, he left the loft in a hurry. As soon as he was gone, Caroline started giggling.

"Mr. Klaus?"

"What's wrong with that?"

If she were human she would really be out of breath, but now it came from habit. "I'm—I'm sorry. I don—don't know why I'm laugh—laughing," she said through her giggles before she managed to calm herself and wipe her eyes.

Klaus smiled and shook his head, taking a few steps forward, toward the light streaming through windows. "You are so very alive, Caroline," he mused.

She poked her head around the edge of the grey wall, seeing his silhouette amid the rays of sunlight. He looked more like an angel than a demon. "You're just as alive as I am, Klaus," she said, stepping out and leaning against the edge of the blocks that created the wall.

"You don't really believe that."

"No. _You_ don't really believe that," she turned his words around, resting her head against the wall. "You paint beautiful things and I've seen the life in you."

He turned, face cut sharply in half in light and shadow. "I've been on this earth for over a thousand long years, hating myself and harming those around me. I no longer care for trivial things."

"Oh-ho, really?" she teased. "Paintings aren't trivial?" He shook his head. "Killing isn't trivial?"

"I get little pleasure from it any longer, if I'm being perfectly honest," he said, shocking her.

Any sense of lightheartedness had dissipated quickly, and Caroline's face fell into a serious expression. "Am I trivial?" she asked quietly.

Klaus didn't answer right away. "No," he said finally, before lifting an arm and rubbing his jaw with his hand. "You should go and take care of your affairs, say goodbyes to anyone still around. I'll call you soon as I know when we're leaving."

Caroline noted the change, he was retreating back to the darkness and she didn't wish to push him farther in case he got lost there. She bowed her head and pushed herself away from the wall, walking around him. At the desk there was a pen and she found a scrap of paper on which she wrote down her number in case he no longer had it. She looked over her shoulder at him, the sun falling around him as if running away from shadows before she left quietly.


End file.
